Indian Navy puts Rafale Marine fighters through trials in Goa ahead of carrier service

The Indian Navy has begun trials of the Rafale Marine fighter in Goa as it prepares to fly the French carrier jet from its own aircraft carriers. Defence officials told the ANI news agency on Wednesday, 21 October, that the trials concern the modifications the aircraft needs to operate from INS Vikrant, the country's first locally built carrier. Sources quoted by The New Indian Express said the work is taking place at the Navy's Shore-Based Test Facility at INS Hansa.

The Goa facility reproduces the ski-jump ramp fitted to India's two carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya, so that aircraft performance and handling procedures can be checked on land before going to sea. India Sentinels, citing its own sources, described the activity as a series of flight trials meant to confirm that the jet meets the Navy's requirements ahead of induction, and said the mock ramp is 283 metres long.

The Rafale Marine was built around catapult launches from the French carrier Charles de Gaulle. India's carriers instead use the short take-off but arrested recovery method, in which jets leave the deck from a ski-jump and land by catching arrestor wires. That difference is why compatibility with the ramp and with recovery systems has to be proven before the aircraft can join a carrier air wing.

Deck space is a second issue. The New Indian Express reported that the Navy is considering minor changes to INS Vikrant or INS Vikramaditya because the Rafale Marine's wings do not fold, giving it a larger footprint than the MiG-29K fighters it is meant to replace, whose wings fold for stowage. The paper put the French jet's wingspan at about 10.9 metres and said, citing a source, that the question of carrier changes had already been discussed during contract negotiations.

The aircraft is not new to the Goa ramp. It was put through ski-jump trials there in January 2022, when it competed against Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet for the Navy's carrier fighter requirement. India Sentinels said that evaluation lasted 12 days and that the Rafale was selected in July 2023.

India and France signed an inter-governmental agreement on 28 April 2025 for 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, worth roughly 63,000 crore rupees. The order covers 22 single-seat fighters for carrier operations and four twin-seat trainers, together with weapons, simulators, training and performance-based logistics. India Sentinels noted that the trainers are meant for shore use because no two-seat version has been cleared to fly from a carrier.

Reports differ slightly on timing. Officials cited by ANI said the 26 jets are due by the end of 2028 or early 2029, while India Sentinels said deliveries should start in mid-2028 and finish around 2030, with crews trained in France and India. The deal also includes technology transfer for fitting Indian weapons, a fuselage production line and maintenance units for engines, sensors and weapons in India, the outlet reported.

According to The New Indian Express, the jet carries the Thales RBE2 active electronically scanned array radar and the SPECTRA electronic warfare suite, and is armed with Meteor and MICA air-to-air missiles and precision-guided strike weapons. The agreement also allows integration of India's Astra beyond-visual-range missile, subject to trials and certification.

The fighters will mainly fly from INS Vikrant, with operations also planned from INS Vikramaditya, and will take on air defence, maritime strike and reconnaissance missions. They are meant to replace a MiG-29K fleet that has suffered serviceability problems. With the Indian Air Force already flying 36 land-based Rafales, India will operate 62 of the type and become the first country outside France to use both versions.